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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. When did Thomas Cook conduct his first train tour?

2. When did Karl Baedeker die?

3. What was the name of the plane that Charles Lindbergh made his flight across the Atlantic in?

4. Who wrote Mein Kampf?

5. What term refers to the process of making something commercial?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Boorstin write of the American concept of "greatness," in Chapter 2 - Section I?

2. What does Boorstin write all tourist attractions share, in Chapter 3 - Section IV? What effect does this have on travelers?

3. How was the second story a pseudo-event in Boorstin's example of "the leak" in Chapter 1 - Section IV?

4. How does Boorstin define "celebrity"?

5. What has psychological analysis done to the old heroic form, according to Boorstin?

6. What does Boorstin write of the news industry in Chapter 1 - Section I?

7. How did Baedeker expand his publications? What was the "star system"?

8. What extravagant expectations does Boorstin assert consumes the American psyche?

9. What does Boorstin write of the changing nature of travel in Chapter 3?

10. How does Boorstin describe the power of celebrity to obscure and destroy the heroic?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe Thomas Cook. What impact did Cook have on the tourism industry? How?

Essay Topic 2

How are stereotypes distinguished from pseudo-events and propaganda by Boorstin? Who does Boorstin cite in defining stereotype?

Essay Topic 3

Compare and contract the definitions of Boorstin for "hero" and "celebrity." How do heroes and celebrities differ in their creation and their demise?

(see the answer keys)

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